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Spirit Works Distillery is a California distillery committed to the grain to glass philosophy, meaning we bring in whole grain which we mill, mash, ferment, and distill entirely on site. The result is a premium product that has been strictly monitored during each step in the production process. Batch by Batch, from Grain to Glass in Sonoma County, CA.

Santa Rosa breathes a collective sigh of relief that the former Rendez Vous cafe on Fourth St. is slated to become a bar and restaurant called Beer Baron. The space, which was taken over by the Chandi Restaurant Group (County Bench, Bibi’s Burger Bar, Mountain Mike’s Pizza, Stout Brothers), briefly had a sign advertising a new restaurant called Booze Barrel in late 2016. Let’s just say the name didn’t exactly inspire visions of classing up downtown Santa Rosa.

However, Sonu Chandi tells BiteClub he’ll now be collaborating with established East Bay restaurateur Harpreet Singh Judge, who owns Beer Baron Bar & Kitchen in Pleasanton and Beer Baron Bar in Livermore. The high-profile restaurant space, which will front the reunified Courthouse Square, should be a natural fit with Santa Rosa’s booming craft brew scene,offering more than 25 beers on tap, a family-friendly menu and reasonable prices, if their other establishments are an indication of what’s to come. Stay tuned.

The vibe: If the one you’re wooing loves whiskey or craft brews, this speakeasy-meets-gourmet bistro is sure to spark romance. The copper-topped bar is lined with two dozen shiny silver taps. Wine-barrel staves cover the ceiling, and barrel rings adorn the light fixtures. And when you spot the thick Whiskey Bible, you know: Despite the restaurant’s beer-centric name, this is the church of barrel-aged whiskey. Be sure to check out the barrel-aged cocktail special.

The Beer Baron Bar and Kitchen, with its ceiling made of wood barrel staves, is just the ticket for a memorable first date. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group

The dish: The menu may look like your typical wings-fries-burgers brewpub at first glance. But crispy, tender Green Curry Chicken Wings ($10) are coated in a mild, silky curry sauce. Buttery seared salmon ($18) is beautifully plated, with watermelon radishes and glistening cipollini onions. Order the Baron Burger ($16) just for the crunchy, creamy duck fries (also available solo as a bar snack for $7).

The details: Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday at 336 St. Mary St., Pleasanton; www.beerbaronbar.com.

With its gangster fedora and dark glasses, the Beer Baron logo sets the scene before you even walk through the door of this speakeasy-style saloon. Inside, the copper-topped bar is lined with two dozen shiny silver taps, and spirits bottles cover the walls. Wine-barrel staves cover the ceiling overhead and barrel rings adorn the light fixtures. And when you spot the thick Whiskey Bible, you know: Despite the restaurant’s name, this is the church of barrel-aged whiskey, craft cocktails and more.

The original Beer Baron bar opened in Livermore in 2012. The new Pleasanton branch offers not only beer and craft cocktails, but elevated pub fare.

You could spend all night reading the whiskey list, a compendium of more than 220 bottles with by-the-flight offerings and 22 pages of tasting notes. Don’t know what Journeyman Ravenswood is? The Whiskey Bible’s got you covered (it’s a rye with licorice and orange peel notes). This is the place to learn about whiskey via flights, such as the Utah High West Distillery Rocky Mountain Rye flight ($13 for three pours), whose aromas and flavors range from smoky to caramel, dried fruit and sweet vanilla.

There’s beer, as well, with a wide range of selections, from Fieldwork’s Salted Coconut Nitro to Alesmith’s Tart Lil Devil sour. Cocktail devotees will want to check out the Barrel Aged cocktail special; on our visit, we sipped a smooth Fancy Baron ($15).

The beer-and-whiskey joint menu seems typical at first glance: wings, fries, burgers. But the wings aren’t the typical neon-orange, sauce-drenched bar bites. On our visit, Green Curry Chicken Wings ($9) were coated in a light, creamy curry with a mild kick. The wings and drumettes were cooked perfectly, with crisp skin and tender chicken meat.

Tres Tocino ($8) — bacon three ways — produced a spicy pepper-crusted version (our favorite), pecan wood-smoked and candied brown sugar variations. Forget the house vanilla bourbon sauce, which is served on the side. It overpowers the bacon, which is splendid on its own.

The ceiling at the Beer Baron Bar and Kitchen is made of wooden barrel staves. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

The kitchen crew has an eye for presentation. Seasonal Vegetable Salad ($9) was autumn on a plate, with roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and cherry tomatoes drizzled with a thyme-balsamic vinaigrette. The Seared Salmon ($18) was a work of art, with watermelon radishes and glistening cipollini onions, unexpected for a bar entree. The salmon was seared just right, crisp on the outside with moist, buttery, melt-in-the-mouth flesh. The corn relish and cherry tomato bed added a snappy freshness.

Thick duck fat fries came with our Baron Burger ($16, the fries are also available as a bar snack on their own for $7), and they were the bomb, with a crunchy exterior and creamy interior. Three of the four dipping sauces rocked: a tangy ale mustard, a spicy paprika-spiked ketchup and basil aioli. You can put them on the burger too, a short rib, tri-tip and brisket mix which we found tasty but a tad dry.

We were very happy that Buffalo Trace Bourbon vanilla ice cream was the Chef’s Choice dessert ($8). We scooped up the light, milky frozen concoction with buttery chocolate chip-studded shortbread cookies. A sweet ending to an unexpectedly superb meal. Who knew bar food could be like this?

Whether you come here to drink or dine — or both — Beer Baron is a great addition to Pleasanton’s evolving bar and restaurant scene.

PLEASANTON — Words printed on a cardboard box turned Harpreet Singh Judge into a beer baron.Of course, there’s more to the story. How and why a Livermore man who’d been raised until age 8 in Punjab, India, and who at age 21 had never set foot in a bar determined that his destiny was to own and operate a saloon is an intriguing tale on its surface. But to hear Judge — the owner of Beer Baron Bar & Kitchen in Livermore and Pleasanton — tell it, he’s just a surfer catching a wave.“There were 80 startup craft breweries in San Diego and hardly any in the Bay Area,” he says. “I just knew it was headed here.” The seed was planted five years before, when as a teenager working at his father’s store, Perry’s Liquor & Craft Beer in Livermore, Judge noticed the names of fruits and other unusual ingredients listed on beer boxes he was breaking down.“It interested me; how some beers were made with different flavors and foods. I guess that stuck.”After graduating from Granada High School, Judge worked in banks for four years. He tried college for six months and during that time, his interest in craft beer grew.“College just wasn’t for me. I had ideas about what I wanted to do,” says Judge.He quit the classroom, helped out in his father’s shop and hit the road.“I’d go to San Diego and up to Oregon and Washington. The way the business works is personable: If I see brewers face-to-face, they remember me,” he says.Stocking the hard-to-get beers at Perry’s led to a level of notoriety.“We were 34th in ratebeer.com’s best beer retailers in the world (in 2010); eighth best in California. Craft beer did well for us. I could see there was a future in it.”Judge, 28, bought the Livermore Saloon in 2012. The downtown bar had gone through multiple iterations since its opening as Croce’s Restaurant in 1914 — becoming a favorite watering hole but hardly a world-class mecca for craft beers.Judge changed all that when it became Beer Baron. After working behind the bar for 21⁄2 years and doing a renovation, Judge saw substantial success. The “mission to serve the best beer in the world” and handcrafted, barrel-aged whiskey cocktails led to an expansion. A Sept. 6 soft opening of a second Beer Baron in Pleasanton added a menu of small plates and bar snacks — and up to 30 unique locally and nano-brewery-produced beers.“I worked every day for two-and-a-half years. It was a dive bar when I bought it, and I knew I had to get in there and turn it around,” he says, recalling the early days in Livermore. “I learned that the business is all about stories, connecting to people.”The relationships he forged with brewers continue.“They’ll tag their barrel and say it’s only for Beer Baron because I hung out with them, helped out, took them out for a pint of beer. It gets you specialty beers, brewed in such small batches not everyone can have them.”The first beer Judge ever tasted was Hop 15, a double IPA made by Port Brewing Co. in San Marcos (San Diego County). “I was 18 and snuck a bottle from my dad’s store. It had 15 different hops, and to this day, when it gets released each year, I make sure we have it at Beer Baron. When I first had it, I noticed the mouth feel was different. Over time, as I drank it more, I got into the flavor. As you begin to be familiar with craft beer, your palette will change. You taste and notice dimensions you don’t taste at first.”Dimension infuses everything from beers that include hefty IPAs, European ales, local stouts and lagers — to wine by the glass or bottle and Kentucky-based Buffalo Trace Distillery’s Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey used in cocktails.The most popular “Whiskey Baron” and runner up “Peachy King” cocktails blend Eagle Rare with Italian Vermouth and peach liqueur or with local honey, Breckenridge Bitters, fresh peach and lemon, respectively.“They’re smooth, easy to drink,” says Judge.Food is a new frontier that Judge is approaching with care. The initial menu (available only in Pleasanton) includes starters — Lemon Grass Beef Jerky, Chile Lime Cashews — and small plates that include Hoisin Lamb Riblets or a Baron Burger.“It’s food that’s ready in less than 10 minutes and goes well with what you’re drinking at the bar,” he says.An expanded menu will gradually introduce soups, sandwiches, chicken and seafood options and desserts to accompany the salads and small plates already on the menu. Special food and beer or cocktail pairings are planned, but Judge says his primary focus will always begin and end with beverages.His keen eye on future trends remains. Session IPAs that don’t leave a person feeling bloated, unable to drive legally, or needing a nap after just one beer are “what’s happening,” he says.Nitro beers that build a thick mouth feel by infusing nitrogen and carbon dioxide in a pour are available but don’t dominate the offerings. Live music — reggae on Thursdays and jazz or blues on weekends — is scheduled at both locations.“It’s a big plus when you have good music but can still talk to your friends,” says Judge.Customers, he adds, love to interact with owners and they’ll find him — when he’s not breaking down boxes out back — behind the bar.Cuisine Scene takes an insider’s look at Tri-Valley restaurants and the people behind them. To comment, or suggest a restaurant, email Editor Simar Khanna at skhanna@bayareanewsgroup.com.

By Sam Molmud @smolmud • On September 8, 2016Read the full Article on Liquid Bread Magazine:Click Here

PLEASANTON — Walk into the Beer Baron and immediately you’ll notice a unifying theme: craft. From a wide selection of local and nano brewery produced beer, eclectic varieties of barrel-aged cocktails, and elevated pub food that would satiate any gastropub nosher — the Beer Baron has found a winning equation with their East Bay bar in Livermore.

It’s that winning combination of artisan beer and cocktails that made the Beer Baron a success in Livermore, and what’s lead the business to open a second location in Pleasanton. The Beer Baron in Pleasanton will be open this week to the public.

The new Beer Baron location in Pleasanton matches ambiance to its products; the bar and restaurant is decorated with a wine barrel ceiling, reclaimed wood for tables and chairs, and even a library corner by a fireplace.